Blame Game- Bulls/Hawks Game 4

It's a chitownsports policy not to assign blame in a Blame Game to the refs. So I'll refrain from giving Bennett Salvatore any here. But I will say that the game wasn't over when Salvatore made an "inadvertent whistle" (where he clearly put his arm up signaling a foul, then somehow changed his mind.) So you blew the whistle and put your arm up on accident? Or did you make a call, then get embarrassed and make it worse? And why would it be a jump ball, and not Bulls' ball on the side? I've never seen a call like that made at any level. Anyways, on to the blame for those actually in the game.

Team Rotations on D- 50%

The biggest difference between this game and the others in the series was how many easy shots the Hawks got. The Bulls did an excellent job on most players individually (not Josh Smith, who we'll get to in a minute), but whenever they had to go through a screen, someone was left open. TT teams don't do that. I'm sure the Bulls will be going through tape tomorrow and fixing their mistakes. Hopefully they'll take the lessons to heart in game 5.

Derrick's shot selection- 20%
I was trying to figure out how Derrick went 12-32, when he only took 3 threes and 5 shots total from beyond 15 feet. It just seemed like tough layups that usually fall for Derrick weren't falling tonight. In the 4th, though, the Hawks did a much better job collapsing on Derrick, and he was throwing up shots anyway. He made just enough to keep doing it, but there were some key possessions when someone else was wide open. I have faith in Derrick, but we need to remember this is his 3rd year in the league. He's going to get better at deciding what to do with the ball in those moments. Hopefully quickly.

Fredo- 15%
1-8 from the field, -13. If he's not hitting, he's not helping. Maybe Derrick kicks some of those out to him if he wasn't quite so cold. He's a streak shooter though, so hopefully at home they start falling again.

Boozer's D- 5%
Don't get me wrong, Boozer had a good game on offense. But Josh Smith had 23 points, 16 rebounds, and a game-high +18. And most of that was on Boozer, who just couldn't keep up with him on or off the ball. He wasn't the only defensive liability for the Bulls tonight, but he was certainly the biggest. And Josh Smith having a good game inside is one of the main keys to the Hawks success.

Deng's 2nd half- 5%
He came out strong, but disappeared in the 2nd half. They need Deng to stay aggressive the whole game to take some of the load off of Derrick. But tonight Deng sat outside shooting jumpers and staying away from the basket, which wasn't helpful. The Bulls won Game 2 and 3 by outworking the Hawks, and Deng was a big part of that. Not having that in Game 4 was a problem.

The Bench Mob- 5%
14 points (9 of those Taj), 9 rebounds (8 of those Asik). The Bulls need much better numbers from the bench to win games 5 and 6. It would be nice if TT would give them a little more trust as well, though. They were pulled quickly in the 4th, and with Derrick in for the whole 4th, I felt like they never really got a rhythm going. I think they would have been better off giving Derrick a few minutes of rest and letting the Bench Mob work together.

I still expect the Bulls to win Games 5 and 6 and wrap this series up. They need to come out emphatically at home though, and work much better as a team defensively

Bulls/Hawks Game 4 Liveblog

If the Bulls play even at 75% of what they did Friday, we could be coming home up 3-1. I think the first quarter will be very telling. If they can get Joe Johnson and company dejected early, it might be cruising time again. I feel good about the Bulls chances either way, but I'd much rather crush all the hope of the Hawks tonight.

Phil Jackson

I generally don't wish ill upon sports figures, but I admit there are times when I hope a player or coach does not succeed.

This is how I felt about a potential 6th championship for Phil Jackson in LA. And not just a 6th, but a second three-peat. It would be eerily similar to his time in Chicago.

Down 3-0 to Dallas with a potential two out of the next four games in Dallas, it seems unlikely that LA will win a championship this year. And I take comfort in knowing that Phil will end up with more rings in Chicago.

I don't love Phil today the way I used to; LA changed him, to be sure. But I will always be proud to know that right along the best player of all time was the best coach of all time.

And I know that coaches don't go to the hall of fame in one team's jersey, but if they did, we know that Phil would be wearing red with the classiest logo in the NBA.

Bulls-Hawks Game 3 Liveblog

Please don't suck Boozer. That's all I ask.

On Boozer and TT

Look, I get the reasons to play Boozer. He's making $80 million over 5 years. It would be nice to enter the Eastern Conference Finals (if that comes to pass) firing on all cylinders. He's making $80 million over 5 years. When he's on, he's capable of creating his own shots in the post as well as anyone still in the playoffs not named Gasol. He's making $80 million over 5 years. Then there's the money thing.

But it's impossible to get around the fact that the Bulls are a better team when Taj is on the floor. On both sides of the ball. Defensively, Taj and Noah are able to cover so much ground around the basket that the perimeter defenders are able to take risks without the fear of giving up an easy 2. Offensively with Taj active on the offensive glass and knocking down 15 footers, he's giving us a lot more than this:



Seriously. Injured or not, Boozer has done nothing Taj (or even Kurt Thomas for that matter) can't do, and has been an obvious drain on defense. And it's getting tiring to have to overcome his play to win.

The Bulls would be perfectly capable of winning this series if Boozer doesn't play a minute. And honestly, I think they can beat the Heat without Boozer, too. Here's why:

1. Joakim has his post game back. It's been coming for a few games now, but you could really see it in Game 2 last night. Jo's left hand hook was falling, and he wasn't afraid to take it off the dribble from 15 feet away and finish at the rim. If Jo is scoring in the post, what they mainly need from the other big man is to space the floor and keep him from being doubled, which Taj or Kurt could do anyway.

2. The Derrick-Ronnie/Bogans-Deng-Taj-Noah lineup is TT's dream defensive lineup. And against the Heat, they're going to need two good help defenders to help against Wade and Lebron drives. And Boozer being 2 seconds too late to every rotation is going to get them even further in the hole.

3. The last thing the Bulls need is Boozer getting booed every time he steps on the floor (or cheered on the road, as I intend to do with Josh Smith.) Derrick and Noah said the right things after the game, but I don't blame Bulls fans at all for getting on Boozer. He needs to know, even if he is hurt, that the half-assed defensive effort is hurting the team.

Maybe TT was even listening. Despite how stubborn he usually is with his rotations (see previous rant here), the fact that he pulled Boozer in the last 4 minutes last night was encouraging. I have hope that if Boozer pulls this crap again in game 3, we'll have to see if TT will pull him earlier, or if I'll have to root for him to get into foul trouble (a la Ben Gordon.)

Boozer. Get it together. Or get out of the way. Please.

Bulls/Hawks Game 2 Liveblog

I fully expect this to be a blowout, and I'll be able to end the blog early and go play Portal 2 for the 4th quarter. Don't let me down, Bulls.

Derrick pays tribute to hard work - and his mama!

Derrick accepted his MVP honors yesterday (the Kia he was given he kindly donated to Meals on Wheels, as we all would probably do with a Kia if we had his kind of money), and if you haven't seen it, I think you should take a look. His whole speech is a display of gratitude and emphasis on working hard, but it isn't until Derrick talks about his mother at the end that you can tell just how much he really means it. It's a rare moment of non-basketball related emotion from His Shyness*. (Not yet an approved nickname for Derrick, perhaps I have to address that more in the previous post on team nicknames.)

Now, I infamously cry at everything, so it is not surprise that when Derrick started talking about his mother, I was tearing up. What was surprising was seeing Derrick do the same. The emotion that choked his voice a bit, that made him pause for a moment before he could talk about how much he loves his mother, is something we never get to see from Derrick.

And then he said something that made me feel so confident that this is just the beginning for our young superstar. He mentioned that whenever he feels tired or doesn't want to keep pushing himself, he thinks about all the times his mother got up for work, how she provided for her family in hard times, and it makes him continue to push harder.

"Brenda Rose. My heart, the reason that I play the way that I play, just everything. Just knowing [that] the days that I don't feel like going into practice, or I'm having a hard time, I think about her when she had to wake me up, go to work and just making sure that I'm all right and making sure the family's all right. Those are hard days. My days shouldn't be hard because I love doing what I'm doing and that's playing basketball. So you keep me going every day and I love you and I appreciate you being in my life."

The love and respect he has for his mother and family is touching. And it shows that Derrick's motivation is rooted in the tangible things in his life. He doesn't want to win basketball games because he wants to be rich and famous (though I'm sure those perks do help), but he wants to win because he knows that he is one of the lucky people who had a good family growing up and a God-given ability to play basketball. He owes it to those people that support him to make them proud, and it pushes him everyday to be the best he can be. He has perspective. Derrick Rose makes me a very proud Chicago Bulls fan, and I can only imagine how his mother feels everyday, and especially after that speech.

A couple other quick notes on the video:

1. How funny was it to see Jo, Taj and Ronnie in sweats leaning against the Kia for charity? I love how in a room full of nicely dressed people, those three managed to rock their own style and sit away from everyone else. I do wonder if Korver, Deng and the rest of the Bulls were seated in chairs somewhere out of the camera shot wearing suits...

2. It was great to hear Derrick pay homage to the greats before him. What impresses me so much about Derrick is that he is the face of a franchise formerly identified by THE Michael Jordan, yet it doesn't seem to phase him too much. Instead, he is grateful to the Scotties and the Michaels and all the other greats because it helped create the rabid fan base that so enthusiastically supports Derrick's career. It was a classy move to mention those guys, and he is right, all of those players on the 6 championship teams are still in the forefront of Bulls' fans minds. Did you hear the way the cameras clicked a little more fervently when Derrick mentioned BJ's name?

Lastly, I think tonight will be a bounce back game for the Bulls. Derrick gets his MVP trophy tonight in front of a home crowd that I think will be as hyped up about the award as he will be. I share the concerns of many others at this point about their ability to overcome the Heat in the next round, if not the Hawks in this one. (Let's be honest, with the way they are playing, the Heat should look like the favorites in the East right now.) I will say this however: What I know (or think I know) about Derrick is that his motivation is practically otherworldly. After seeing him address his mother so lovingly, I realize even more just how great his desire to succeed is. With all the expectations on the Bulls team this year, there would no doubt be crushing disappointment if they went out before the Finals. But if that happens (and of course, we all hope it doesn't), I think the frustration of losing prematurely for the Bulls will spark them to a greater amount of focus next season. Because regardless of this season's outcome, the career of Derrick Rose is just beginning. He's 22, he's got talent and drive, and he's got a mother he clearly wants to make proud. And should he lose in the playoffs this year, well I'm tempted to guarantee a Bulls championship next year. Because the only thing missing on Derrick's list of motivating factors is anger, and he will be angry if they don't make it out of the East. And I have a feeling that outside of Bulls fans, you wouldn't like Derrick when he's angry.